BULLETIN BOARD  

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NEW FEATURED LESSONS, WEBSITES AND INFORMATION

Quote of the Week:

"I had a wonderful experience on the golf course today. I had a hole in nothing. Missed the ball and sank the divot." -- Don Adams

STUDENT ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN CHALLENGE

Several Wellington Schools recently completed this unit with some students being as young as 8-9. Teachers commented that they had never seen their students' have so much fun or be so highly motivated! Check this out during the holidays for teaching next term – you won't be disappointed.

Students discover how architects design schools and grounds in real life and then put this knowledge to work to design parts of their classrooms, outside areas and schools. It also gives an insight in to the new design language called Pattern Language and how architects use it. Cross curricular Real-Life education.

PATTERN DIAGRAM

Download this student copymaster that shows all the patterns that are combined to create the final classroom/school design.

LAST WEEK OF TERM

Looking for something quick and easy during the last week of term? Check out our Bright Ideas section

FEATURED LESSONS WITH AN ENGLISH/LANGUAGE THEME

REPORT WRITING

Writing a report is not as daunting as it first seems. In this lesson, we get students to understand the purposes of reports and introduce them to an easy-to-follow template involving six sections and the purposes of each section.

OUR AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT

The Aquatic Environment is very much a part of the New Zealand experience. We enjoy these aquatic environments for their beauty, for relaxation and for sport and recreation. But just how much about our aquatic environment do your students really know? This unit uses the Aquatic Environment to develop research and study skills; oral presentation skills, and design skills.

FITNESS FOR LIFE

A major unit where students investigate:

the sporting and recreational facilities in the local district.
Explore the language of sport
Present radio sporting commentaries
Compose radio jingles
Promote sports and games
The unit can be used as part of your language and/or physical education and health programmes. Strong links to the arts.

PLAN A BALLOON FIESTA

In this English/technology/science based unit, students conduct research into the history of hot air ballooning, construct their own hot air balloons, plan imaginative local ballooning adventures, perform balloon dramas and take part in a technology challenge. Multi-level.

UNIT ONE – LITTER –LET'S OPEN OUR EYES

‘There’s a Place for Everything’, is a series of multi level, cross curricla units designed to help us teach students respect for the environment using an anti litter context. Unit One ‘Let’s Open Our Eyes’ focuses on becoming aware of litter and its effect on the environment.

UNIT TWO – LITTER IS VISUAL POLLUTION

In this second unit we focus on litter as visual pollution in our local community, how litter affects our enjoyment of a place and our feelings about being in that place, how litter encourages more litter – devising practical actions that the students can take to break the litter cycle. We explore these ideas in the context of: green’ areas of our environment such as parks and streams and ‘built’ areas such as streets, shopping malls, town squares

CELEBRATE LANGUAGE DIVERSITY

A major language and languages unit where students celebrate the diversity of languages in their local community.

CREATING A FESTIVAL

Language activities for years 5-9 where students explore the purpose of festivals, identify national and local festivals and then plan and run their own.

THE EVER VERSATILE LETTER

A major language unit to explore the purposes of letter writing and to teach students how to construct and write both formal and informal letters.

RUNNING A BOOKWEEK

By presenting a wide range of cross curriculum activities centered around books and reading, even the most reluctant reader can be caught up in the enthusiasm.

RUNNING A READATHON

Are you planning a Readathon or just looking for reading ideas that will work in your classroom? This unit outlines two very successful reading strategies. Multi level activities.

ESSENTIAL ATLAS SKILLS

English study skills classroom activities based on the new HarperCollins World, New Zealand, and Pacific atlas.
FEATURED WEBSITES WITH AN ENGLISH THEME

Click on the green website name to visit.

WACKY WEB TALES

A Houghton Mifflin site that is a lot of fun – especially for reluctant writers. The writer chooses a topic and is then asked to write in words as described, eg a high number, your favourite song etc. Once finished the new Wavky Web tale is published with hilarious results which encourages more writing.

A GAME A DAY

In this science/technology based web project, students learn how the blades of a helicopter provide lift. Students then construct their own paper helicopters from a template and test their creations for speed and distance.

WORD GAMES

Great online interactive word games including crosswords, topic hangman, quizes and word searches. A must for early finishers.

FUN BRAIN

All sorts of online language games help kids master everything from spelling to grammar and have fun in the process.

KIDZONE LANGUAGE ARTS

A multi-level site featuring tons of activities covering alphabet, phonics, creative writing, handwriting, reading and puzzles.

INTO THE BOOK – INTERACTIVE READING/LANGUAGE GAMES

Explore eight reading strategies for K-4 students and teachers in this interactive and in-depth reading comprehension site:

Make meaningful connections to climb to the summit of the Mountain of Understanding; Summarize the thrilling life of a talkative pirate; Evaluate books to successfully explore a distant solar system; Infer the real news in letters from pen pals … Students can watch online videos, play learning games and interactives, and share their creations with friends and family. Teachers can delve into rich information and teaching resources, lesson plans, video and audio clips, downloads, and more.

LET'S WRITE A NEWSPAPER

A comprehensive newspaper writing course for students. Includes story scenarios and newspaper samples. Great materials and ideas for students and full background information for teachers. Take the course – it's worth it!

more feet firstProfessionally Publish a Student Picture Book.

This spring, one primary school will have the opportunity to professionally publish a picture book on 'active travel' written and illustrated by their students. The Feet First Picture Book Competition is designed to get schools thinking about active travel and is part of the Feet First Walk to School Every Week initiative. To enter the competition, a class or class group must write and illustrate a picture book. It can be created on paper or in a digital format. Books can be fiction, non-fiction, serious or humorous. Professional designers will work with the winning class.

For more information and an entry pack and the 'Getting Started' booklet, visit: www.feetfirst.govt.nz (live link)

feet firstA WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEW ZEALAND TEACHER (25 YEARS OR UNDER)

Apply to become the next Antarctic Youth Ambassador


Antarctica New Zealand and the Sir Peter Blake Trust launched a programme in 2007 that annually selects a young New Zealander to participate in and contribute to the environmental work in Antarctica, over the summer months. Open to 18-25 year olds who can demonstrate a passion and personal contribution to NZ's natural environment.

This is a wonderful and exciting opportunity for an environmentally committed teacher. Visit the website for full criteria, information and an application form. Click on the link below.

http://www.sirpeterblaketrust.org/environment/antarctic_youth_ambassador/